


Taking (better) care

by Sevi007



Series: Healing Rain [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Family Feels, Found Family, Gen, Other characters mentioned and referenced, Post-Advent Children (Compilation of FFVII), Promises, getting better, saying goodbye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23858422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sevi007/pseuds/Sevi007
Summary: Use brings about wear, tear and rust.But so does neglect. Especially where relationships are concerned. Now is the time to pick up the pieces. Time to talk. And time to heal and do better.It’s time to finally be a family again.(Where Marlene needs some more reassurance, and taking care of others is an art to be learned.)
Relationships: Cloud Strife & Marlene Wallace, Denzel & Tifa Lockhart & Cloud Strife & Marlene Wallace
Series: Healing Rain [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1719283
Comments: 9
Kudos: 67





	Taking (better) care

**Author's Note:**

> Little writing practice to get out of writing's block, and a little love letter to the FFVII compilation at the same time - the remake threw me back into all the feels I had for the characters at breakneck-speed. I just adore this ragtag found family way too much. 
> 
> Hope I did them some justice with this! =D

The silence that greeted Marlene when she stumbled out of the room she shared with Denzel was deafening. It brought her up short, an unfamiliar wall of noiselessness to put a stop to her wobbly steps. Her sleep-addled mind took a moment to figure out what had changed.

Their friends had left again.

This particular silence was the absence of the merry mix of whispered chats, snores or straight-out arguing, shouting and laughing drifting up from the lower floor. When she went down the stairs now, there would be no piles of sleeping bags, coats and fur strewn out throughout the bar which she would have to strategically tiptoe around. No chorus of voices to echo her greeting back at her.

Vincent had been the first one to leave; nobody had been surprised when he had packed up his few things and quietly said goodbye, though everyone had been quick to make him promise to _use_ his new phone every now and then. Laughter ringing out around the room when he gave all of them a flat look in response to someone – guessed, but not proven to be Yuffie - had shouted at him to _“stay away from coffins”._

Nanaki had followed soon after; either joining the Ex-Turk or directing his steps towards his family, he had not been sure about it yet. He had seemed at peace with either or neither, sharp teeth glinting in a smile as soft as he could manage as he let the children pet him a last time, rumbling purrs shaking their small bodies through as they held onto him.

Yuffie and Cid had left together. Their departure had been as lively as their absence now rung hollow, swears echoing out when Cid couldn’t find half of his things in the mess he left behind everywhere he went, Yuffie regaling everyone with promises of what souvenirs she would bring on her next visit until she had been all but dragged out the bar and back home. 

Dad – _Barret_ had left last, staying for as long as he could, and longer still. Marlene had known what he wanted to ask her the entire time he hadn’t done so, until finally, she had taken it upon herself to say it: She wouldn’t be coming with him on his job, not this time. 

“ _Daddy”_ , she had added when his face grow still and controlled, and his eyes spoke volumes of things which he could say that would make them both cry. “ _Daddy, they need me now.”_

She hadn’t needed to explain who she meant. This little family they had found and built, whom she loved and whom loved her despite them not sharing any blood. It had nearly fallen apart in the last few months. Now they were all back, together and healthy, but there were pieces to be picked up, gapes to be closed, and wounds to be healed. Steps long forgotten needed to be relearned. She couldn’t leave before that. She simply _couldn’t_.

And Barret had understood. His eyes soft with love and pride and a lot of sadness, he had pulled her close and held tight, voice a rough rumble when he grumbled, “ _You take care of them, sweetheart.”_

She had promised, smiling and crying only a little. Crying a lot harder when he left soon after, but still smiling. Same as he did.

There were tears pricking at Marlene’s eyes again right then and there, while she listened to the silence until it seemed less huge, less suffocating. Simply breathed and focused on what was there, rather than what wasn’t.

The smell, for one. Now that she focused on it, she could pick out the smell of fresh juice and only just heating up frying fat in the air, wafting up to her from the kitchen.

A smile tugged at her lips and banished the tiny tears while she hurried down the hall and made her descent. Silence or not, the Seventh Heaven was obviously not empty this morning.

By the time she reached the lower floor, Marlene could hear the muffled murmurs coming from the kitchen, the clinking of dishes and sizzle of things frying in pans. She crossed the room, hurrying a bit because her bare feet grew colder with every step.

When she pushed open the creaking door to the kitchen, the voices behind it fell into startled silence, two heads swiveling towards her as she called out a bright, “Good morning!”

Tifa was the first one to get over the surprise, and smiled. “Good morning, Marlene.”

Denzel’s greeting was nearly lost, muttered into his glass of juice as it was. His floppy hair was a mess, eyes half lidded in sleepiness still, but he was smiling as well. A sight Marlene had missed for so long it made her beam at him, making him flush and duck deeper behind his drink with a pleased little huff.

The fat hissed when Tifa cracked two eggs and slipped them into the pan, all in one smooth, practiced motion. The new wave of flavor-y goodness wafting her way had Marlene’s stomach grumble. Still she didn’t enter the room, surveying it instead with a growing restlessness. “Is Cloud not up yet?”

She doubted it even as the thought crossed her mind. Cloud had always been an early riser, up and out on the next job before even the crack of dawn. And that had been before everything; before he had lost more and more sleep over things he wouldn’t tell them about.

Tifa hummed, eyes on the pan she was nudging lightly into place. “No, Cloud has already gone out…”

Restlessness turned to worry and blazed into panic in a matter of seconds. Marlene could not help the way her voice rose an octave when she gasped, “He _left_ again?!”

“What? Marlene-…”

“Marlene!”

She could hear Tifa and Denzel call for her, muffled by the door falling closed behind her, but Marlene was not listening anymore. Rushing across the room to the front door, she bent and slipped into her shoes as an afterthought, her entire focus already on _outside_ and _That’s not fair!._ Her fingers shook as she fumbled with the laces, nearly knotting them together.

Cloud had said he would take care of them. He would _stay,_ he had said so. He had, hadn’t he? In his own way that did not need words, he had…

Maybe she had misunderstood. Maybe he had never meant coming home…

Finally she managed to fit her shoes so they wouldn’t immediately slip off again, and rushed for the front door. She was not sure what her goal was, herself. The garage first, perhaps, to see for herself if Fenris was missing, and its owner had abandoned them again. Perhaps a trip through the slums to the church, to see if Cloud was to be found there…

Marlene ripped the door open, running outside in full speed.

And almost fell over the person sitting just beyond it on the front step.

_“Oh!”_

“Wha-… Watch out!”

A hand shot out, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and effectively stopping her fall before it even truly began. Marlene yelped, arms instinctively flailing out, and then hiccupped a relieved gasp when she was righted and set back onto her feet carefully.

Heart hammering like a drum in her chest, the girl looked up with wide eyes, and found herself face to face with the very man she had just been intend on chasing after. Her dawning realization made her whisper a second, perplexed “Oh.”

Cloud’s eyebrows arched even higher, blue eyes just a little surprised, a little baffled where he blinked at her silently, hand still outstretched as if to catch her again. Sat on their front step, he had been bent over something in his lap, which, upon a second look, Marlene recognized as a huge sword that seemed increasingly more familiar by the second.

She couldn’t focus on swords right now, though. What was much, much more important, was that Cloud was _right there._

He hadn’t left at all.

“… Oh.” The mad rush of emotions which had taken over her seemed to leave her in the gasped sigh, and Marlene fairly deflated in its wake. Now, under the gaze of those baffled blue eyes, she felt almost silly for it. Of course Cloud wouldn’t leave. Of course not.

She had just been… 

Afraid.

Smiling weakly, Marlene shuffled one feet over the other, fingers twiddling together. “Um. Hi, Cloud.”

“Morning.” Another slow blink. Cloud’s shoulders visibly relaxed, likely because he had determined there was no threat or danger behind her mad dash. Instead of turning back around, however, his gaze dropped for a second, before he looked up again and patted the space next to himself.

The invitation, even silent as it was, made Marlene perk right back up. She shuffled over excitedly, plopping down close enough to the man so they were nearly touching. Delighted over the little gesture, one she had missed for a long time, Marlene beamed up at Cloud, heart growing even lighter when she saw the tiny curl of lips in answer.

They sat a moment in silence while Marlene struggled to catch her breath and calm her racing heart, and Cloud silently picked up a cloth and started cleaning the sword in his lap with it. The scent of something sharp, chemical tickled Marlene’s nose, and while she watched, a layer of reddish-brown dirt and rust flaked and slipped of the metal, leaving gleaming a surface behind.

She allowed her gaze to wander up to Cloud’s face again. Blank, to an unknowing passerby, expressionless. For someone who knew him well, the light furrow between his brows spoke of focus, the set of his jaw of intent.

More than half of the sword’s surface was gleaming, pristine in its tidiness and even to the look of it sharp enough to cut through anything. Cloud must have been working for quite a while, considering just _how_ caked with dirt and eaten by rust the blade was in the little yet untouched places that were left, and how much of the surface had been freed of it already. 

The blade must have been in one sorry state before he had begun to clean it. Which was _odd,_ since Cloud wasn’t lazy or messy. He took good care of his things.

But not of his old sword…?

His _very_ old sword…

The thought made Marlene blink again, and try to remember when she had last seen the Buster Sword in Cloud’s hand. Once, it hand been a permanent fixture to the man. Now, she had to wonder if she had ever seen it since…

Since the fall, Marlene figured. It must have been sometime before Meteor Fall.

Huh.

“How did it become so dirty?”

That had not been quite the question she had meant to ask. But it was easier to put into words than all the other unfinished thoughts in her head, and it came close enough.

Its impact could have nearly felt, too. Cloud’s steady motions stopped as if frozen, and his breath hitched audibly, then left him in a stuttering gust of air. He held very, very still, not his usual quietness, but something resembling more a statue than a living, breathing human.

It unnerved Marlene, who had seen all sorts of silence from Cloud but this one.

The odd silence stretched for so long that she began to fear she had said something she shouldn’t have. Just when she was about to change the subject, get up and declare it was time for breakfast, Cloud spoke, voice soft yet strong. “I haven’t been taking good care of it.”

The answer was so honest and simple it brought her up short. “Oh.”

Cloud’s jaw worked silently for a moment, then he sighed deeply. “There’s a lot of things I haven’t been taking good care of… for a long time. When I should have.”

Another long pause which felt like a small eternity until he finally, _finally_ looked up, finding and holding her gaze steadily. “I’m sorry, Marlene. I will do better from now on.”

The words needed a moment to sink in, and when they did, Marlene felt breathless with the emotions clogging her throat, filling her chest. Of course he had said so before – after dropping her off at home, before turning around and rushing to go save the rest of their family, the rest of the world – but hearing it now, in the morning’s quiet, steady and true and with no pressure forcing the words out, it hit her different. It felt preciously real, and Marlene wanted to grab the words with both hands and hold on so they would never be lost or forgotten again.

Smiling felt difficult with her tight throat and itching eyes, but she managed, trying to sound perky like she did not feel as she assured, legs kicking. “It’s okay, Cloud. I know you will.”

Something shifted in his earnest expression, brows furrowing. He turned something over in his head, it was clear as day, before he finally said her name, just stern enough that it made her straighten involuntarily. “Marlene.”

“Mh?”

“That means I’m not going to just leave you again, too.”

Surprise washed over her, closely followed by embarrassment – so he had figured out why she had been in such a hurry – then, relief so sweet and huge slammed into her, the tears right behind her eyes overflowed, a few of the drops flooding down her cheeks before she could reach up and catch them.

Cloud was faster; out of his element, she could tell in the wry twist to his mouth, but gently reaching out and catching the tears with his knuckles, nonetheless.

He was so intent on it, Marlene had to grab his wrist to stop him while she sniffled out an answer, “Okay.”

Pausing, Cloud seemed to search for something in her eyes, before he quirked a smile. “Yes?”

_Believe me?_

She wanted to. She _did_. Unable to voice _how_ much she did, Marlene wanted to hug him. But that would not work, either, with the giant blade between them. So instead, she leaned forward and pressed her face against Cloud’s upper arm, hiding her smile and her teary eyes against solid muscles and a soft ribbon, and repeated with all her might, “ _Okay_.”

The sigh he let out at that she more felt than heard. Just like the palm settling hesitantly over the back of her head – not stroking, simply resting there. Assuring.

She couldn’t tell how long they had been staying like this when she heard the front door creak again. Hastily she pulled back, rubbing her eyes to rid them of final stray tears before she looked over.

Denzel stuck his head carefully through the gap, gaze landing first on Cloud, then on her. Some of the worry in his expression eased as he saw them both there, and he cleared his throat. “Uh… Tifa said breakfast is ready when you are?”

The sentence was so familiar it nearly made Marlene laugh; a quiet puff of air next to her told her she was not the only one. A quick glance over had her discovering Cloud ducking his head to hide his smile, and she laughed out loud, giddy with happiness and delight.

“I’m _starving!_ ” With that declaration she scrambled to her feet and darted for the door, nearly knocking Denzel over in her rush. He immediately laughed and tried to wrestle her under his arm. Of course she didn’t let him. She was as fast and slippery as a wererat when she had to be.

The front door clicked closed behind Cloud when he followed them at a slower pace. Marlene turned away from Denzel in time to see the man lean the Buster Sword against the wall next to the door with the care one would handle a priceless, fragile thing.

When Cloud did not immediately move away from it, gaze riveted on the now gleaming weapon, Marlene approached carefully until she stood next to him.

Slipping her fingers between his was the easiest thing in the world. Her fingers were small, made to fit, and his were bigger and stronger, made to hold onto something firmly and safely.

The touch made him blink slowly, gaze lowering away from whatever he saw in the metal, down to her questioning gaze.

“What will you do with it?”

There were a lot of things she could have asked. The story behind this sword, or why it made Cloud sad when he looked at it. This, though, seemed the best question to go with, Marlene supposed. Harmless, yet important. Somehow she knew that this weapon had seen its final battle long ago. It was in the careful way Cloud handled it. Saying goodbye at every turn.

Cloud’s eyes softened, the faraway look in them receding. He hummed thoughtfully, swinging their joined hands lightly back and forth. “I thought the church would be a good place.”

Marlene sucked in a breath of air, the visual he painted strong and _right._ She couldn’t help but tug at their linked fingers in excitement, grinning from ear to ear. “That’s a great idea!”

The careful smile around Cloud’s lips widened, almost bashful. “Yea?”

“Yes!”

“… Want to come with when I go there?”

“ _Can_ I?!” Before he could huff and assure her he wouldn’t say it if he didn’t mean it, Marlene had already let go of his hand and rushed forward to throw her arms around Cloud’s middle in an impulsive hug. “Thank you, Cloud!”

She didn’t let it deter her when he froze in her arms, startled. She simply held on until he breathed out and relaxed, awkwardly patting her head a few times.

“… Marlene?”

“Yes?”

“Breakfast.”

“Oh, right.” Marlene still didn’t let go, and he did not make a move to shove her off. When she threw her head back to grin up at him, Cloud’s lips twitched into a smile he seemed helpless to control. Only then, satisfied, did she release him again and ran for the kitchen, calling out “Tifa, I’m starving!”

“Oh, that’s no good,” Tifa answered easily when the girl rushed into the room with this exclamation, laughter in her voice. “Help me set the table, and we can get you fed, okay?”

“On it!” Marlene turned to take the cutlery Denzel handed her and carried it over to the table.

She became aware of Cloud’s presence again when he spoke up behind her, voice low. “Denzel.”

The boy jumped when addressed unexpectedly, eyes a little wide under his bangs when he answered. “Y-Yeah?”

“Marlene and I are going to the church later,” Cloud reached out, feigning absentmindedness, to straighten the cutlery out where Marlene had simply dropped it. His gaze only strayed once to Denzel before dropping again. “Want to come?”

Denzel’s jaw dropped and he gaped like a fish for a beat, before breaking into a smile so wide it must have hurt. “Yeah!”

“Mh. Good.”

“We’re taking the Fenris, right?!”

“Sure.”

“That’s so cool!” Dropping back in his chair, Denzel looked ready to vibrate out of his seat in excitement – or jump up and race for the garage, plate untouched.

Tifa obviously noticed it, too, since she reached over and tapped the boy on the head gently. “Breakfast first, though.”

“Yeah, I know,” Denzel murmured in a voice that said he _didn’t,_ but pulled his plate closer, anyway.

Marlene paused in laying out napkins to look up and watch Tifa and Cloud exchange a long look across the table. She couldn’t even begin to make out what silent conversation had gone on between the adults, but it seemed to reach a good conclusion, for Tifa smiled – the wide smile that made her eyes crinkle, the one the girl hadn’t seen from her ever since Cloud had left – and turned back to her task at the hearth with an air of peace to her.

Tifa, Marlene reflected, had also not been taken care of for a long, long time. Always busy with taking care of others, there had been no one to hug her, or tell her things were going to be alright.

There should have been. There should be, now.

With Tifa’s back still turned, Marlene reached out to tug at Cloud’s sleeve, murmuring once he leaned closer, “When we go to the church, can we bring Tifa some flowers back?”

Surprise flickered through blue eyes, before a smile softened it. Cloud nodded. “Mh. Good idea.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Setting two plates with fried eggs and crispy bacon in front of them, Tifa looked from one to the other, eyebrow raised curiously.

The smile vanished as fast it had come behind a façade of feigned innocence while Cloud blinked at her. “Don’t know what you mean.”

Barely swallowing a giggle, Marlene nodded enthusiastically. “No idea!”

“Oh, _sure_ you don’t.” Tifa rolled her eyes, bright with laughter, and shook her head while she turned around. Just long enough that Marlene could exchange a quick look with Cloud and grin quietly up at him.

When she turned back to her plate, Marlene caught Denzel’s gaze, and saw him mouth a quiet _What?._ She mimed shushing and answered just as quietly _later._ It seemed to be enough for now, for her nodded, turning back to his plate, poised to dig in. Marlene scrambled up into her own seat while Cloud took the one next to hers.

With a final flick of her wrist, Tifa turned off the heat and joined them at the table with her own plate. “Dig in while it’s still hot!”

“Thanks for the food,” Cloud answered quietly but no less sincere.

“Yeah,” Denzel gulped the first mouthful he had shoved in down, blushing lightly, and joined, “Thanks Tifa!”

“Thank you!” Marlene chirped happily, starting to cut into her bacon with relish.

“Don’t be silly. It’s not much, just something quick…”

The bacon almost fell of Marlene’s fork as she waved it around, declaring with no little offense, “That’s not true!”

“Not _much?_ ” Cloud’s eyebrow arched, and Marlene spotted the smile hidden in the corner of his eyes as he glanced through his bangs at Tifa. “Now who is being silly?”

Whatever Tifa had been about to say to disagree was lost when she stopped and stared, lips parted in surprise – and laughed out loud, throwing her napkin at Cloud’s general direction. “Oh, be quiet and eat!”

Thrilled to finally hear laughter in the house again, after it had been so long, Marlene squealed in joy and grabbed her own napkin, declaring “Attack!” before hurling it at Denzel’s head. It flopped down pathetically halfway across the table, but that did not stop Denzel from crying “Hey! Watch it!” and throw his own cloth at her.

“Oh, no, guys, don’t…,” Tifa’s half-hearted protest was almost lost in her laughter when one napkin flew right past her head and Cloud shrugged innocently at her mock-glare. “You started it.”

“And I can end it, Strife.”

“Scary.”

Food was going to be cold, and Marlene’s belly was starting to hurt from laughter. She didn’t mind either. She felt lighter than she had in a long while. Her family was laughing again. Things couldn’t have been much better, if anyone asked her.

She would take some time while picking the flowers. A quiet moment, simply for some whispered reassurances to the rustling petals and someone who might be listening beyond.

She couldn’t wait to tell Aerith that they were all ready to get better now. 

**Author's Note:**

> [Find me on tumblr!](https://sevi007.tumblr.com)


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